Lauw-Sim-Zecha family

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Lauw-Sim-Zecha family
Current regionJakarta, Bekasi, Depok, Sukabumi
FounderLauw Ho
MembersLauw Tek Lok, Luitenant der Chinezen
Sim Keng Koen, Kapitein der Chinezen
Louisa Zecha
Adrian Lauw Zecha
Che Engku Chesterina (née Lauw-Sim-Zecha)
Estate(s)Cimanggis
The Lauw-Sim-Zecha family in the early 20th century

The Lauw-Sim-Zecha family is an Indonesian family of the 'Cabang Atas' or the Chinese gentry of the Dutch East Indies (colonial Indonesia).[1] They came to prominence at the start of the nineteenth century as Pachters (revenue farmers), Landheeren (landlords) and Kapitan Cina (government-appointed Chinese headmen) in the colonial capital, Batavia (now Jakarta), and in the hill station of Sukabumi, West Java.[2][3][4] The family is of mixed Peranakan Chinese and Indo-Bohemian descent.[3][1]

Following the Indonesian revolution (1945-1950) and revolutionary leader President Sukarno's nationalization of private assets, the family left Indonesia and is now based mostly overseas.[3][5]

Origin and rise[edit]

Lauw Ho, the founding father of the family, was a prominent pachter or revenue farmer in Batavia between 1845 and 1861, as well as one of the city's wealthiest tycoons.[6] He was also part of the powerful Ngo Ho Tjiang partnership that dominated the opium monopoly in Batavia.[4] He served as Wijkmeester (ward master) of Meester Cornelis, a junior position in the civil bureaucracy.[7]

Kampong Gang Zecha was an area in colonial Jakarta named after the Lauw-Sim-Zecha family.

While Lauw Ho failed to secure an elevation to the prestigious Chinese officership, which was a high-ranking civil government post, his two sons – Lauw Tek Kang and Lauw Tek Lok (died in 1887) – were both appointed Luitenants der Chinezen of Meester Cornelis and Bekasi respectively on December 23, 1854.[8][9] They also became important Landheeren or landlords through their acquisition of significant agricultural landholdings ('particuliere landen') in the Ommelanden or rural hinterland of Batavia, including the estate of Tjimanggis (now Cimanggis).[10][11] The brothers' acquisition of Chinese lieutenancies and landed estates marked their entry into the ranks of the Cabang Atas.[1]

Luitenant Lauw Tek Lok, who served in office with distinction until his death in 1882, nonetheless caused some consternation among the colonial authorities due to his unconventional, interracial marriage with an Indo-Bohemian woman, Louisa Zecha.[2] On being widowed in 1882, Zecha further scandalized colonial society by marrying her dead husband's former private secretary-turned-magnate Sim Keng Koen, who later had a distinguished government career as the first Kapitein der Chinezen of Sukabumi, a colonial hill station in the Preanger highlands of West Java.[3] As the historian Mely G. Tan notes, the Lauw-Sim-Zecha family lived in a grand style as the premier gentry family of Sukabumi, where most of the extended clan settled down.[3]

Later history[edit]

Luitenant Lauw Tek Lok and Louisa Zecha's grandson, Aristide William Lauw-Zecha, became the first Indonesian-born graduate of an American university (Iowa University in 1923), and was a prominent plantation owner.[12][13][14] Kapitein Sim Keng Koen and Louisa Zecha's youngest son, Chester Lauw-Sim-Zecha, was also an important community and business leader, as well as a Freemason, in the first half of the twentieth century.[15] The family, however, lost their vast landholdings and assets due to the Indonesian Revolution (1945-1950) and President Sukarno's nationalization of private landed estates in 1952.[12]

In the aftermath of the revolution, many members of the Lauw-Sim-Zecha family, like other scions of the Cabang Atas, left Indonesia and settled overseas.[14] Notable members of the family today include the Malaysian royal Che Engku Chesterina (née Lauw-Sim-Zecha) and her cousin, Adrian Lauw-Zecha, son of A. W. Lauw-Zecha and the founder of Aman Resorts.[16][17] Lauw-Zecha's son, Ajai, is married to the Singaporean actress Michelle Saram.[5]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Haryono, Steve (2017). Perkawinan Strategis: Hubungan Keluarga Antara Opsir-opsir Tionghoa Dan 'Cabang Atas' Di Jawa Pada Abad Ke-19 Dan 20. Utrecht: Steve Haryono. ISBN 978-90-90-30249-2. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  2. ^ a b Fromberg, Pieter Hendrik (1926). Mr. P.H. Fromberg's Verspreide geschriften (in Dutch). Leidsche uitgeversmaatschappij.
  3. ^ a b c d e Tan, Mely G. (1963). The Chinese of Sukabumi: A Study of Social and Cultural Accommodation. Ithaca: Cornell University.
  4. ^ a b Benedanto, Pax; Marcus A. S. (2012). Kesastraan Melayu Tionghoa 5 (in Indonesian). Jakarta: Kepustakaan Populer Gramedia. ISBN 9789799023759.
  5. ^ a b "Singaporean actress Michelle Saram returns to acting in Paradox". The Straits Times. 22 August 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  6. ^ Chen, Menghong (2011). De Chinese gemeenschap van Batavia, 1843-1865: een onderzoek naar het Kong Koan-archief (in Dutch). Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press. ISBN 9789087281335.
  7. ^ Juristen-Vereeniging (Batavia), Nederlandsch-Indische (1857). Het regt in Nederlandsch-Indië: regtskundig tijdschrift (in Dutch). Batavia: Van Dorp. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  8. ^ Almanak van Nederlandsch-Indië voor het jaar ... (in Dutch). Batavia: Lands Drukkery. 1870. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  9. ^ "Chineesch Bestuur te Mr. Cornelis". Java-bode : nieuws, handels- en advertentieblad voor Nederlandsch-Indie. Bruining. 1 May 1882.
  10. ^ Almanak van Nederlandsch-Indië voor het jaar ...., Vol. 40 (in Dutch). Batavia: Lands Drukkery. 1865.
  11. ^ "NEDERLANDSCH-INDIE". Java-bode : nieuws, handels- en advertentieblad voor Nederlandsch-Indie. Bruining. 11 August 1876.
  12. ^ a b Hilditch, Tom (July 15, 2001). "Asiaweek". Paradise Regained.
  13. ^ Lombard, Denys (2005). Nusa Jawa: Batas-batas pembaratan (in Indonesian). Gramedia Pustaka Utama. ISBN 9789796054527. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  14. ^ a b "International Alumni Profiles". students.tufts.edu. Archived from the original on 24 September 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  15. ^ Stevens, Th (1994). Vrijmetselarij en samenleving in Nederlands-Indië en Indonesië (in Dutch). Uitgeverij Verloren. ISBN 978-90-6550-378-7. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  16. ^ "Melewar Group's Tunku Abdullah dies - Nation | The Star Online". www.thestar.com.my.
  17. ^ "Adrian Zecha (né en 1933) : ses hôtels hors de prix de la chaîne Aman ressemblent au paradis". Capital.fr (in French). 28 January 2016.
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